Secrets of the Heart (Brie's Submission Book 20)

by Red Phoenix

  She heard someone clear his throat and turned to see Gino Mancini standing in the doorway. She was struck again by how decidedly handsome he was, despite his age—or because of it.

  Walking over to her, he gazed deep into her eyes before taking her hand and kissing it gently. “Bella Donna.”

  Brie blushed. “Grazie, Signore Mancini.”

  “You may call me Gino, Brianna.”

  Brie bowed her head slightly, surprised by the request. A man of his station and maturity demanded a higher level of respect.

  “I see you are admiring my prize possession,” he stated, gazing at the Bible.

  “I’m amazed to see one of these in person.”

  “I come from a long line of book lovers, as you can tell by our collection,” he said proudly, gesturing to all of the books that lined the room.

  Brie gazed at his collection in wonder. “It’s like going to the Vatican to take in all the exquisite art, only you have it here in book form.”

  He nodded. “The Mancinis pride ourselves in supporting creative artists. It’s the reason I insisted we pour our family resources into Alonzo’s talent.”

  Brie smiled. “I want to express my gratitude again. I’m so honored that you invited me here to look over the materials you have. I want to learn everything I can about Alonzo Davis. Not just for my documentary, but for personal reasons. From what you’ve already shared, he was quite an extraordinary man, as well as an amazingly talented violinist.”

  “It was a tragedy that his life ended the way it did. I have never forgiven Thane’s mother for it.”

  “Neither has he,” Brie admitted sadly, staring back at the Bible.

  “I, for one, am glad she’s dead, and I hope she’s burning in hell.”

  Brie glanced back at him, surprised by the venom in his voice. “It must have been hard because you were so close.”

  His dark eyes narrowed. “When I heard that Alonzo shot himself in the head, I was inconsolable.”

  Brie shivered as a chill raced down her spine.

  “But, we will not speak of such things,” he declared, gesturing toward the door. “Let me show you what I have collected.”

  Gino placed his hand on the small of her back as he guided her out of the study. Brie glanced around at the grandeur of the Mancini family home and the exquisite heirlooms they had amassed over the centuries. She spied a large bowl of Venetian glass and walked up to it. Remembering seeing similar work on her honeymoon in Venice, she told him, “The craftsmanship of this bowl is incredible.”

  Gino nodded solemnly. “This piece was commissioned by my grandfather. There is nothing like it in the world.”

  Brie shook her head in amazement as she admired the intricate designs and vibrant colors of the glass. “I was entranced by the Venetian glass I saw on our honeymoon, but there was nothing this grand or intricate.”

  “You’ve been to Venezia?” he asked with interest.

  “I have, although we were only there for a short time. Still, the wonder of the place has never left me.”

  “Is it possible you met Matteo Savino while you were there? Matteo is famous for his private parties,” Gino explained.

  “Do they involve masks?” she asked, not wanting to give too much away if it turned out not to be the same man.

  “Sì…contatto maschere.”

  Hearing the words “masks contact”—the theme of the party she attended with Sir—had Brie nodding enthusiastically. “Yes, we did attend one of his parties while we were there.”

  Gino gave her a curious look. “Who was your partner that night, may I ask?”

  Brie smiled, remembering the sensual experience. “His name was Dante.”

  He nodded, looking pleased. “Ah yes, that would be my godson.”

  Brie shook her head in amazement. “Oh, my goodness. What a small world.”

  “Indeed.”

  Looking back at the glass bowl, Brie felt chills of excitement when she thought back on the connection she had experienced with the young man that night.

  “Go ahead. Touch it,” Gino insisted.

  Brie tentatively grazed her fingers lightly over the smooth glass, afraid to touch the exquisite bowl even with his permission.

  He grasped her hand to guide it over the wavy ridges on the edge of the bowl. “Art like this is meant to be experienced by all the senses.”

  Brie smiled up at him, appreciating the playful feel of the curves of the glass under her hand.

  She was surprised when he slowly let go of her hand and took several steps back from her.

  Nodding to one of his servants, he commanded, “Show her to the study.”

  Addressing Brie, he explained in a terse voice, “I have business to attend to and will be gone during the entirety of your stay.”

  Brie was completely thrown by the sudden change in him. “You’re leaving?”

  “I’m a busy man, Brianna, but don’t let that stop you from your task. Alonzo’s talent deserves to be honored.”

  Still stunned by the news, she stammered, “I agree…Signore Mancini.”

  “Gino,” he corrected, that captivating smile suddenly returning to his face. “You have my permission to explore. Feel free to touch anything you like.”

  She smiled hesitantly, disturbed by the abruptness of his mood change. It left her to wonder what she had done to cause it.

  Although the thought of being alone in this huge mansion seemed strange, Brie realized it would give her the opportunity to work without interruption, and that definitely appealed to her.

  “Thank you.”

  “Think nothing of it, Brianna.”

  She turned to follow his servant up an impressive flight of stairs. At the same time, she heard Gino bark orders to one of the other servants.

  Brie frowned to herself. She wondered if the idea that she was about to go through the things of his dead friend had unsettled him? If that were true, then why had he invited her?

  Gino was definitely a difficult man to read.

  The servant led her to a secluded room at the end of a long hallway on the east wing of the mansion. He opened the door for her and pointed to a large antique desk. Brie noticed that there was a fire prepared for her roaring in the fireplace and smiled.

  When Brie turned to thank the servant, she saw he’d already shut the door behind her.

  “Well, okay then…”

  Brie headed to the imposing desk and found her laptop had already been set up. Instead of cardboard boxes, all of Alonzo’s things were stored in fancy wooden boxes with decorative carvings of music notes etched in them.

  It seemed everything associated with Gino was unique and over the top.

  Brie lifted the lid on one of the wooden boxes, touched that Gino had honored Alonzo’s memory by storing them in such an exquisite way.

  She gasped in surprise when she saw what was inside.

  Brie had expected a few letters, but there were stacks of them. Opening another box, she found it was full of photos. Brie reached down and picked up the first one she saw.

  It must have been taken soon after Gino first met Sir’s father, based on how young they looked. The two stood side by side, laughing together. Alonzo held his beloved violin out toward the camera while Gino pretended to play it with the bow.

  Brie sat down and stared at the photo for a long time. She was struck by how much Thane’s father looked like him at that age.

  Picking up another photo, she saw Alonzo on a yacht, the wind blowing through his long Italian hair. Brie recognized the look in his eyes. She’d seen the same look whenever she went sailing with Sir out on the ocean together.

  Excited, Brie pulled out another photo. This one was a picture with Ruth. Alonzo had his arm draped around her. He was looking at Ruth with so much love that it made Brie’s heart ache. Although the photo had been taken before Brie was even alive, she was shocked to see how much Ruth hadn’t changed—except for one thing.

  In the photo, she stared back at Alo
nzo with a look of pure adoration. It made her look…beautiful.

  Shuddering, Brie quickly put the photo back in the box, unable to reconcile the beauty of this moment captured in time with the reality of what would happen in the future.

  Opening the third box, Brie found a myriad of plaques, awards, and magazines featuring Alonzo on the cover. Until then, Brie hadn’t fully understood what a celebrity Alonzo had been in his time.

  The last two boxes had every album he had recorded, plus numerous video tapes of his performances around the world.

  Gino had meticulously recorded the date, event, and location of each one in a log.

  As far as the material she had to work with, this haul was beyond her wildest dreams. It was a shame that Gino was unwilling to part with any of it—even temporarily. It would make the task of exploring all of it so much easier if she could look over it at her leisure.

  However, Brie understood the reason why Gino was so protective of it. After losing Alonzo suddenly, and in such a tragic way, Gino must be afraid of losing any more of him.

  Knowing how much material there was to go through and that her time was limited, Brie dove straight in, starting with the letters first.

  Taking a stack of them, she walked over to an overstuffed chair next to the fireplace, carrying her laptop. Knowing there might be words she wouldn’t recognize in written form, Brie wanted her computer close to translate any unknown words she came across.

  With the sound of the fire crackling in the background, she curled herself into the chair and opened one. Brie smiled when she saw his exquisite penmanship. It was similar to Sir’s.

  Gino,

  I won’t lie. I was nervous about playing at Sainte-Chapelle tonight. There have been so many talented musicians who’ve performed here throughout history.

  Thankfully, God is kind. The moment my bow glided over the strings of my violin, I lost all inhibition and she sang like an angel in that hallowed place.

  You should have seen my mother cry. She looked so proud, but I can’t take the credit. I owe this opportunity to God and to you. Thank you for believing so deeply in my talent.

  As I sit here, writing this letter, I’m still flying high from tonight’s performance.

  None of this seems real to me.

  I hope someday to repay you for your friendship, financial support, and encouragement.

  Indebted to you,

  Alonzo Davis

  Brie could feel his excitement radiating off the page. She smiled to herself, imagining him as a young, inexperienced performer, sweating and unsure just before the power of his music took hold of the audience.

  How she would have loved to be there!

  Looking up toward the heavens, she said, “Know that your son and I were with you in spirit, even though we weren’t born yet.” She laughed at herself.

  It was a silly sentiment, and yet…

  Brie felt certain that love could live outside the boundaries of time.

  Dante

  Brie spent hours sorting the dates on the envelopes so that Alonzo’s letters were in the order they had been written. Only then did she allow herself to dive in.

  She settled down and started at the beginning, getting completely lost in his letters. She’d just begun reading about Alonzo’s first performance in America when she heard a light rap at the door.

  “Mi scusi, Signora Davis.”

  Brie looked at the clock and chuckled to herself. She realized she’d been at it for almost ten hours, but she wasn’t ready to stop just yet.

  Assuming he had refreshments, she called out in Italian, “Please come in,” before she went back to the letter.

  Brie heard the man enter the room and mentally dismissed him as she read:

  Gino,

  America is nothing like I expected. There is such rich diversity here in the landscape and the people. I may be falling in love with this country—

  “Bellissimo.”

  Brie instantly looked up, recognizing the voice. Her jaw dropped when she saw it was the young man with wavy brown hair and sparkling brown eyes from Venice.

  “Dante?”

  “Sì, signora,” he answered with a warm smile.

  Brie immediately forgot about the letter and stood up, shaking her head in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

  “My godfather sent for me.”

  “Why would he do that?”

  He shrugged, smiling charmingly. “You do not ask a man like Gino Mancini why.”

  Based on the mansion alone, Brie knew that Gino was an extremely rich man, but up until this point, she had failed to appreciate the obvious power he wielded.

  “Did he tell you that I was here?”

  “No, Signora Davis. I am as surprised to see you as you are to see me. Where is your husband?”

  “He’s with his grandmother.”

  He frowned in concern. “I hope all is well.”

  Not wanting to share too much, she answered simply, “Yes. He and I enjoy our visits to Isola d’ Elba but Signore Mancini invited me to look through everything he has of Alonzo’s and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.”

  He nodded, glancing at the letter that had fallen to the floor. His gaze then moved to all the open boxes. “There is a lot here, signora.”

  Brie couldn’t contain her excitement when she told him, “Everything here is related to Alonzo Davis. Gino invited me to look them over because I’m planning to make a documentary about his life and he was kind enough to let me have free access to all he owns.”

  Dante nodded. “I do know my godfather was highly invested in Alonzo’s career.”

  Brie gestured to the boxes with enthusiasm. “I have to admit that this is a filmmaker’s dream come true.” She picked the letter up off the floor and pressed it against her chest. “But I’m even more excited to get the chance to know Alonzo Davis through these handwritten letters.”

  “Is there anything I can do to help, signora?”

  Brie was about to turn him down when her eyes landed on the box of videotapes. “Would you mind watching one of his performances with me?”

  “It would be my honor to.”

  Brie went through the list of tapes in Gino’s black book and chose the one that corresponded to the date with the letter she was reading. Slipping the old VCR tape into the player, Brie walked over to the couch and sat beside Dante as he turned on the TV.

  Applause filled the study as Alonzo Davis took the stage with his violin. Brie’s heart raced when the camera zoomed in on his face.

  He was so young and full of life.

  If Alonzo Davis was nervous about facing his first American audience, it didn’t show in his face. No, Alonzo had the same commanding presence as his son, Thane. Looking directly at the camera, he placed his violin under his chin and smiled.

  The long, pure sound of that first note had Brie and the entire auditorium under his spell. She watched him play with bated breath as Alonzo carried her along on a musical journey of love and loss, joy and sorrow with the power of his violin.

  Brie hastily wiped tears from her eyes, glancing at Dante with embarrassment. She was touched to see he had tears in his eyes as well.

  At the end of the performance, as the entire assembly stood up to give him a standing ovation, Alonzo looked at the camera again and winked.

  Brie’s heart skipped a beat.

  She felt as if that simple gesture was meant for her.

  When Dante turned off the TV, she was overcome with a mixture of joy and heartbreaking sadness. To see Alonzo as a confident young man at the beginning of his successful career was thrilling, but knowing how it would end made it hard to bear.

  “I’m glad you were here tonight, Dante. I don’t think I could have watched this alone,” she confessed, wiping the remaining tears from her eyes.

  Dante smiled sadly. “It is a shame that Alonzo Davis is no longer with us, but that music…” He pressed his hand against his chest. “It lives here.”

  Brie
nodded, grateful that he understood. “It does. What a gift he had.”

  “And now you will share that gift with the world, Signora Davis, and help him to live on.”

  She felt a sense of profound responsibility. She knew this documentary had the potential to not only erase the damage Ruth’s lies had wrecked on his reputation, but it might also introduce the magic of his violin to a whole new generation of people.

  Brie closed her eyes for a moment and imagined the look of pride on Sir’s face when he watched it, knowing that his father’s legacy had finally been redeemed.

  What a wondrous moment that would be!

  “Can I get you something to eat or drink? The servants informed me that you have not left this room since you came.”

  Brie confessed, “When I get lost in a project, I forget about everything else—including food.”

  “I would be happy to get some for you.”

  “Oh, no. I’ll head down with you. No need to serve me, Dante.” Brie looked at all of the materials that had yet to be explored and sighed in contentment. This was a filmmaker’s paradise.

  A servant stood waiting for them just outside the door. After Dante explained that they were ready to eat, the servant told them to wait in the dining room to be served.

  “Please don’t bother,” Brie insisted. “It’s only the two of us and it’s late.”

  The man seemed offended by her suggestion. “One of our staff will be with you shortly, Signora Davis.”

  Brie shrugged, looking at Dante sheepishly. She hated to make the cooking staff work so late but she still followed him to the formal dining room.

  It seemed a bit excessive to be served there, considering the table sat sixteen and there were only the two of them.

  Giddy from exhaustion, Brie told him, “You sit on that end and I’ll sit on the other.”

  With an amused smirk on his lips, Dante obliged her.

  She waved at him after she sat down. “How’s the weather over there?”

  He just shook his head and smiled.

  Brie sat back against her chair, looking at the magnificent paintings on the walls. “The wealth of art Gino’s family has amassed over the centuries is amazing.”

  “Agreed, signora. Their collection is world-renowned.”